Mobile Suit Gundam Century
by Nyron
Summary: After countless centuries, Humanity has finally moved into space using orbiting space colonies. Many believed that this would bring an end to war, as humanity was united in a common goal. However, the peace did not last, and war soon broke out. After it ended, tensions remained high. In NC 100, war looms on the horizon yet again, and many wonder if peace will ever be obtainable.
1. Prologue

Mobile Suit Gundam Century

Prologue:

For the last 21 centuries, mankind has waged war against itself in countless battles. Even before that in the BC era, humanity fought against each other. In the 21st century, the citizens of the world have begun to grow tired of the constant wars that bring nothing but tragedy and grief. As a result, the United Nations put Project Exodus into motion during the 2050's. Project Exodus' purpose, was to research and develop space colonies capable of orbiting Earth. They believed that by focusing all of their resources on one shared project, the fighting would end. In the year 2103 AD, the first 5 colonies: Archimedes, Borealis, Elysium, Gaia, and Nautilus, were completed. In 2104 AD, 100 million colonists made the mass exodus to the colonies, breathing life into them. With the transition to space well underway, humanity entered a new era. On the eve of 2105 AD, the calendars were officially changed. Anno Domini was now mankinds past, and they pushed into the future of the New Century(NC).

The years following the completion of the original 5 colonies were prosperous ones. Economies all across Earth and the colonies boomed like it never had before, and more colonies were constructed to further relieve Earth of its large population. However, like with all golden ages, it eventually came to an end. Similarly to how it had originally been on Earth, greedy politicians found seats of power in the new united government, the UEG(United Earth Government), and began to drain the economy of life through useless spending and self-payment. In the year NC 67, the colonies demanded independence from the UEG.

Fearing they would lose their greatest source of income, the politicians of the UEG placed the colonies under military jurisdiction. This was further enforced upon the completion of the UEG's prototype Mobile Suits, human-like war machines. As the years pressed on, the colonists became more rebellious. The UEG was soon forced to open fire on civilians The most notorious of these was the Nautilus Massacre of NC 76. This event triggered an all-out war between the colonies and Earth. In secret, the colonies had constructed their own Mobile Suits, mostly on the colony Gaia. Nowhere was safe from the war. Land, sea, sky, and space were all fair game as battlefields. The war lasted 7 years.

In NC 83, both sides were desperately low on resources. In a last ditch effort, the Colonial Federation forced an under-construction colony onto Earth. Due to its barely begun state, the devastation caused by the drop did not render Earth uninhabitable, rather, it caused climate changes globally. Places that were once tropical resorts were now sheets of ice like Antarctica, which no longer existed. The heat generated by the colony melted the polar ice caps and caused worldwide flooding, further changing the geography of the world. Billions of lives were lost in the ensuing chaos, dramatically reducing the Earth's population. The war was finally over, but at a grave cost. As the UEG forces withdrew from the colonies and space, the colonists gathered together and held multiple memorial services for all the lives lost during the war.

A formal treaty between the United Earth Government and the Colonial Federation was signed a month later, and the Colonial Federation was recognized as the independent, collective government of the colonies. Many hoped that the events of the Colonial War would prevent any further bloodshed for centuries. However, war is the very nature of humanity, and is not so easily purged. 17 years later in NC 100, the drums of war, would beat once again.


	2. Chapter 1: Project Century

Chapter 1: Project Century

Elysium Colony, 3rd colony to be constructed by the UEG in 2103 AD. As one of the original 5 space colonies, Elysium's technology was inferior to that of the latest colony, Verandi, constructed in NC 82. However, it still enjoyed a prosperous population. Elysium is home to a population of almost 50,000,000, one of the largest colonial populations. It is also home to the Elysium Academy, a high school built to function more like a university. Students come from all the colonies, and even Earth, to attend the Academy.

One such student is Kazuo Shimura, a resident of Elysium. An adolescent of 17, Kazuo is well liked and respected amongst his peers, although he sometimes wonders if the only reason they respect him at all is because his father is the colonies head mobile suit researcher, having constructed the very first mobile suits used by the Colonial Federation during the Colonial War. It could be overbearing at times, always being expected to produce straight A's, come out on top on quizzes, tests, and exams, and to follow in his fathers' footsteps.

As Kazuo stared out of the classroom window, his seat conveniently next to it, he drowned out the teachers' lecture about a new kind of particle that could potentially be a new power source for anything humanity could ever dream of. He watched the artificial clouds drift by. All the weather in the colonies was artificial, while the gravity was generated by the rotation of the colony itself. Despite its artificial nature, Kazuo was content with watching it anyway, wishing to one day go to Earth and see natural weather.

"Mr. Shimura!" Kazuo snapped back to reality and looked at the teacher. Mr. Valence was a tall, somewhat imposing man. He could easily intimidate any of his students. How he ended up a scientist was beyond Kazuo's comprehension. "Mr. Shimura. I would appreciate it if my star student actually payed attention during class. What kind of message do you think that sends to other students?" Kazuo sighed. "It'll send the message that they can just slack off and still pass the class with flying colors." Mr. Valence seemed pleased with the answer, even if he did detect a hint of sarcasm. "That is correct, Mr. Shimura. I expect better from you. I'm sure your father would say the same thing if he knew." The teacher turned to the rest of the class and continued his lecture. Waiting for the class to end, Kazuo removed his favorite book from his satchel and flipped it to the earmarked page.

Class ended 50 minutes later, and all of the students in Mr. Valences' class rushed into the halls. Kazuo was the last one to leave. As he stepped into the halls, he could see that everyone at the Academy was, as per the rules, wearing the uniform. The uniform was primarily black with silver lining. The Academy crest was stitched on to the left breast pocket. The uniform acted more like a coat than anything. It has long sleeves and was a button-up. Kazuo had the collar turned down as usual. Underneath, he wore a white button-up shirt, as well as black formal pants and shoes. He liked the look, but he wished that everyone didn't look exactly alike.

Finally leaving the classroom door, Kazuo made a right down the hall and headed for the courtyard, slipping his hands into his pockets as he walked. As he stepped outside, he heard an all too familiar voice. "Hey! Kazuo!" Kazuo turned to see Frederick jogging towards him. Kazuo and Frederick went way back, all the way to Elementary school. "Yo." Fred was losing breath quick, and by the time he reached Kazuo, he was coughing. "You wouldn't happen to have any water on ya, would ya?" Kazuo checked his satchel. "Sorry, nothing." Fred scowled. "Damn." He stood upright and look at Kazuo. Fred had auburn hair, was around 5 foot 9 inches, compared to Kazuo's 5 foot 11 inches. Fred also had to be one of the few people in the entire Academy who turned their collar up. It at least made him stand out among the crowd in a way.

Fred reached into his satchel and pulled out a packet of papers. "Hey, take a look at it when you get the chance." Kazuo looked at the papers and took them, slipping them into his satchel. "Yeah, I'll get to it soon. You should really consider showing some of this to a big corporation, I'm sure they would hire you in a heartbeat." Fred laughed. "You're just messing with me, Kaz. It's not that good." They started walking towards the front gate when an out of place noise caught Kazuo's attention. "Hey, did you hear that?" Fred looked confused. "That sounded like an explosion." As he said this, a high pitched sound could be heard, growing louder and louder. Kazuo practically spun on his heel and looked up into the sky. Kazuo's expression turned into one of pure terror.

As they both stared into the sky, a battle could be seen in the distance. Gunshots and explosions reverberated throughout the colony's interior. The sound they had heard was coming from a mobile suit. It was a Colonial Federation Natsu-type. Its trajectory was taking it straight towards the Academy. "Run!" Kazuo and Frederick busted through the front gates and sprinted away from the Academy. Moments later, the Natsu fell right onto the school, and exploded. Kazuo and Frederick were propelled into the air by the blast. They hit the ground hard and skidded for a bit before coming to a halt. Kazuo awoke a few seconds later and looked before himself at the devastation. The explosion had taken out the entire school grounds and at least a mile radius past the grounds. Everyone he went to school with, gone in an instant. He held back tears. He stood up and ran over to Fred who was lying face down in the dirt. He shook him a bit until Fred began to stir. He sat upright, but kept himself from looking back. "It's gone, isn't it?" Kazuo turned his head away, not willing to look his friend in the face. Kazuo looked down the road. His family's home wasn't too far from here. If they hurried, they could get their and find a way to get off of Elysium before the fighting worsened. Kazuo helped Fred up, and together, they began their trek through the forest.

About an hour later, Kazuo's home came into view off in the distance. "There it is." The sped up their pace, trying to get there as quickly as possible. Just then, Kazuo heard the sound of jets. "Get down!" He tackled Fred, sending them both rolling off the road. Behind them, right where they were standing, a mobile suit landed. As it turned around, Kazuo got a good look at it. It was a UEG suit. Fred was also watching. "The UEG? What are they doing here? This is Federation territory." Kazuo's face became expressionless. "I don't think that applies anymore. We're looking at a whole new war." Kazuo and Fred stood up. They had to get past the suit, but there wasn't any opening. They'd be spotted, and Kazuo had a feeling that these pilots didn't distinguish between military and civilian.

About 3 minutes later, the suit began to move, and Kazuo and Fred took the opening and made a dash for the manor. The suit must've had a motion sensor, because as soon as they sprinted from their hiding place, the suit stopped and looked back at them. It leveled its' rifle right at them, but before it could fire off a round, another mobile suit slammed into it. Kazuo looked over his shoulder and recognized the design. It was one of the his fathers' personal guards. The mobile suit was a deep sapphire blue, and looked like a knight from the medieval era. A loudspeaker clicked on. "Master Kazuo! Stay right there, I'm gonna take you to the manor!" The UEG suit stood back up and brandished its metallic blade. The guard suit, known as the Tristan, parried the blade with its shield and slammed the barrel of its rifle into the suits head. With its' optics destroyed, it could no longer properly function. However, the pilot still tried to fight back. The suit stumbled forward, and began to fall…. right towards them. The guard called out to them. "Master Kazuo!" The Tristan reached out to grab the suit, but just barely missed it. Kazuo's pace quickened, but Fred lagged behind, exhausted from all the running he had been doing, coupled with dehydration. Kazuo slid to a halt and reached out to his friend. "Frederick!" It was too late. The last thing Kazuo saw, was the look of sheer terror on Fred's face, right before he was crushed by the falling suit. Kazuo's calm appearance finally shattered. Tears streamed from his eye's as he stared in horror at the scene. He stumbled forward, stopping 7 feet short of the suits body. A single, body-less arm, stuck out from underneath the suit. Kazuo fell to his knees. The Tristan kneeled not far from him, and extended its hand. "Master Kazuo. I am sorry about your friend, but we must go. More will be coming soon, and I could not forgive myself if anything happened to you." Kazuo managed to regain enough of his senses to stand up and step onto the mechanical hand. The Tristan stood up and raised its arm as well. It walked off toward Shimura Manor.

Because of its sheer size, the Tristan covered the distance to the manor quickly. A small firefight was going on at the front gates. The Tristans' head turned to face the group of enemies in front of the manor and opened fire with its head mounted Vulcan machine guns. The enemy troops were cut down in seconds. The Tristan stepped up to the front of the manor, kneeled, and placed its hand against the ground. Kazuo stepped off, the Tristan standing up and going back to guard duty. Unexpectedly, Kazuo was greeted by someone he didn't expect to see. "Thank god you're all right, son." In front of him stood both his mother and father, a little bloodied and holding handguns. "What's happening out there? Why is the UEG attacking Elysium?!" His father looked him straight in the eyes. "They are here to halt production of the Federation's mobile suits." His mother was the next to speak. "I'm glad you're safe. We must get inside, quickly." Kazuo followed them inside along with a small squad of guards. Kazuo picked up a handgun from a dead guard. His father stopped and looked at him. "Do you know how to use it?" Kazuo nodded and checked the magazine. It was full. He slid it back in until he heard a satisfying click.

After 5 minutes of running, it was down to just Kazuo, his mother Elise, and his father Tetsu. They had been attacked numerous times on their way to the basement. All of the guards that had been accompanying them were dead. Kazuo heard footsteps behind them, stopped, spun on his heel, kneeled, and fired off two rounds. One round caught the UEG soldier in the abdomen, the second went right between his eye's. Kaz stood up and hurried after his parents. Reaching an elevator, Tetsu hit the call button. They could hear the gears inside turning as the elevator sped up towards them. Elise fired a few rounds down the hall, catching two more soldiers in the necks. Kazuo never knew his mother was such a good shot.

After 2 more minutes, the elevator finally reached their floor and the metal doors slid apart. Kazuo and Tetsu stepped in. Kazuo turned and looked at his mother who was looking at them both. "Mother?" She reached inside the elevator and hit a button reading "Hangar". As the doors began to close, she whispered. "Goodbye." The doors sealed shut, and the elevator descended. Kazuo looked at his father. "We have to go back! Mothers-" His father looked him straight in the eye's. "Your mother is doing what she had to. She was only thinking of you." Kazuo was stunned at his fathers' response. Did he not care that his wife was fighting against impossible odds? Did he know what she was planning long before it even happened. He leaned against the wall of the elevator. His father spoke. "We will not let your mothers sacrifice be in vain." The elevator came to a halt, and the doors opened once more.

They stepped out into a pitch black room. Each footstep created an echo that lasted for 10 seconds each. "Where are we?" His father flipped 7 switches in quick succession. Lights came to life all over the room, revealing just how large it actually was. In front of them stood a silver mobile suit, attached to a catwalk by clamps. Kazuo stared in awe at it. His father was over at a computer terminal when he spoke. "The LS-01 Century Gundam." Kazuo looked at him. "LS?" His father looked at the mobile suit. "Last Series. The Century Gundam is intended to be the final mobile suit developed by mankind. I have worked on it in secret for the last 17 years. It is more advanced than any mobile suit you'll find on the battlefield today. It is the culmination of all of my years of research….. and it's yours." Kazuo's eye's widened. "What do you mean it's mine?" Tetsu looked away from the suit to his son. "Exactly what I said. It is yours. I am too old to return to the battlefield. When I conceived this mobile suit, you were but a baby, but I always intended for you to be the pilot."

Behind them, the elevator doors closed and the elevator ascended. Tetsu's expression soured. "It would seem your mother has bought us all the time she could. You must go, now!" Kazuo looked at his father. "What about you?! You can't just leave me, not like this!' Kazuo began to cry again. His father walked over to him and placed a hand on his head. Kazuo's tears suddenly stopped, and he looked up at his father, surprised. His father was smiling. "I know you can do it, Kazuo, because you are my son." Kazuo wiped his eye's with his sleeves, and his father retracted his hand. "Now go." Kazuo turned and ran towards the Century. He didn't dare look back, not yet. He jumped onto the cockpit door and slipped inside, seating himself at the controls. The suit reacted to the touch of his hands on the controls. "Biometric data received. Welcome, Kazuo Shimura." The voice was feminine, but clearly synthesized. It recognized who he was. His father meant every word he had said. "This is my Gundam." He looked out of the hatch. His father was working furiously at the controls on the pad. He had wheeled a chair over.

The Gundams' systems fully came online, and the hatch shut. The mobile suits optics flashed to life, and Kazuo could see everything clearly. The clamps detached from the suit and retracted, allowing him to move freely. He turned the Gundam around so that it was facing the Magnetic Accelerator Catapult, and locked the feet into the locking mechanisms for the catapult. His father hit a few more buttons and the catapult roared to life. It's charge was at 100% already, meaning it had been charging for a long time. 4 lights flickered to life, all red. One turned green, then another, then the third, and the 4th flashed green, and they all blinked twice. The Gundam shot down the catapult.

Tetsu watched as the seeds he planted so many years ago sprouted, and left him forever. He sat in the chair, a single tear rolling down his cheek. "Good luck, son." He hit a few buttons on the console and the message "EXPLOSIVES ARMED. REMOTE COMMAND REQUIRED" appeared on the display. Tetsu looked at his right hand. In his palm lay a thin, cylindrical detonator. To the side, the elevator arrived at the Hangar, and the doors began to part. "Elise, my love. I'll be with you soon." The soldiers charged out of the elevator and aimed their rifles at him. He smiled, and pressed the detonator.

As the Gundam sped down the length of the catapult, Kazuo felt the vibrations of explosives. A tear rolled down his cheek. In a matter of a few hours, he had lost everyone who meant anything to him. His friends, Frederick, his mother, and his father. He wondered why he didn't just give up, right then and there. He had nothing left to live for, he didn't know why he was in this machine. Yet, he continued onward. In the distance, he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

(Author's Note: Chapter 2 will be coming soon.)


	3. Chapter 2: Legacy

Chapter 2: Legacy

_Elysium, my home, lays in ruin. 50% of the colony now lays in ruin after a surprise attack by UEG forces. They came without warning, and destroyed everything in their path, killing anyone that got in their way. My family and friends were victims of this attack. Their targets were my family's home due to our affiliation with the Colonial Federation, and the Mobile Suit Production Facility. In the end, my father gave me this mobile suit. He called it Gundam. He didn't say what I was supposed to do with it, only that it was mine, always has been. What am I supposed to do?Where do I go from here?_

Kazuo sat inside the Century Gundam, which was speeding down the magnetic accelator catapult. The tunnel couldn't be very long, so he fully expected the exit to not be too far away. Sure enough, he could see light in the distance, but it was angled, meaning an incline. He braced himself. The Gundam turned up the incline, and shot out of the underground cavern into the sky. Kazuo hit a few buttons and thrusters engaged. He eased the mobile suit down to the ground, where it landed without incident.

As the Century settled and thrusters deactivated, Kazuo's mind finally came back to him. The events of the past few hours hit him like a brick. The memories brought with them a mix of emotions. Anger, Hatred, and Sorrow. Tears began to form in his eyes. Before anything could come of it, the motion sensors began to go off. A video feed snapped on to one of the screens in the cockpit. Three UEG mobile suits, Valdris-types, were fast approaching. The feelings of sorrow and sadness subsided in favor of hatred and revenge. The Gundam turned to face the oncoming enemies. Kazuo opened the weapons schematics and located each weapon the Gundam currently possessed. It has 1 primary weapon, a prototype beam rifle, 2 melee weapons, dual prototype beam swords, and 1 support weapon, vulcan machine guns located on the head.

Kazuo gripped the controls and made the Gundam sprint forward, trying to get beneath the incoming mobile suits. As soon as the Gundam was below the Valdris', he unsheathed a beam sword, and kicked on the thrusters. The Gundam burst into the air and shot towards the enemy mobile suits. Before the first Valdris could defend itself, the Century's beam sword connected mid-chest. "Die!" The sword forced its way through the armor plating, through the cockpit, and out the back. The Valdris was split in two, both ends exploding moments later. As he glided past the other two, he turned to face them. He pushed the throttle forward and rammed the Century's shield into the right Valdris. They crashed into the ground. Dust surrounded the area of impact. The Century stood up through the dust cloud, the Valdris lay still on the ground. Kazuo brought the beam sword up, and impaled the Valdris through the cockpit. The screams of the pilot could be heard and the sword plunged deep through the armor. Then the screaming stopped. Kazuo ripped the sword out through the bottom of the Valdris, and turned to face the newly landed Valdris. Kazuo returned the sword to its slot on the right thigh armor, and equipping the beam rifle in its place. The Valdris opened fire on him. Kazuo forced the throttle as far it could go. The bullets pinged off the Century's shield. When the Century was close enough, he bashed the Valdris with the shield, sending it reeling back. He then grabbed onto its right shoulder and brought the barrel of the beam rifle up to the cockpit hatch. Kazuo fired three times. Not a scream was heard. Kazuo let go of the Valdris and pushed it away. The Valdris exploded a moment later.

At the sight of the 3 destroyed mobile suits, Kazuo felt satisfied, but, he didn't feel good. His hatred subsided, and the feelings of sadness and sorrow returned. His grip on the controls loosened, and he slumped in the seat. Tears streamed from his eyes as memories of his family and friends flooded his mind. "Why... why did this have to happen?" A couple seconds later, the speakers inside the cockpit came on. "Kazuo, my son." Kazuo's eye's opened wide, the tears still running down his face. "Father..." The speakers picked up again. "If your hearing this message, then a new war has begun, and I have likely passed on. The mobile suit you find yourself in now is fruits of all my research. A means to an end." The message paused for a second, then picked up again. "I spent these last few years trying to find an answer, a solution, to the curse known as war. However, I did not find it. Instead, I developed this mobile suit. The most advanced mobile suit ever built. It surpasses any mobile suit both the Colonial Federation and the UEG possess. It is my legacy, and I pass it on to you now. Do what I failed to do. Find the solution to war." The tears slowly stopped flowing. "This is my final goodbye." The speakers died down, and shut off entirely. Kazuo felt a feeling of calm rush over him, washing away the sadness and anger. He wiped what was left of the tears from his face. He felt a renewed sense of purpose.

As he fully regained his senses, Kazuo took a good look at his surroundings. He was in a large forest. About 2 miles from him was the burning wreckage of his home. He stared expressionless at the carnage through the Gundam's optics. "Mother...father... Frederick..." He turned the Century around and walked in the opposite direction. He pondered where to begin his search for the solution to war. He immediately thought of the birthplace of humanity's curse. "Earth..." No one from the colonies rarely ever set foot on Earth. The climate changes and worldwide flooding made many places there unattractive to tourists. No one in the colonies had family there either, making that point moot as well.

As much as he wanted to leave the colony as soon as possible, Elysium was still his home, and the UEG was still present. However, he had no way of finding them without flying around the entire colony. Then he remembered the computerized voice that first spoke to him when he entered the cockpit. He decided to try something. "Gundam." The speakers flared to life. "Yes Mr. Shimura?" It was a long shot, but it worked. The Gundam seemed to be equipped with an artificial intelligence with some sentience, but to what extent he did not know. "Locate all UEG mobile suits inside Elysium." The voice did not come back, rather, the computer screen in front of him brought up a digital recreation of the colony, both exterior and interior. After a few moments, three red dots appeared on the map, on the opposite side of the colony. They were grouped together. Kazuo brought up the information on the 3 enemies. "3 Valdris-types. 2 standard and one commander-type." Kazuo exited out of the map and back to the normal display.

After a minute or two, Kazuo turned the Gundams head optics towards the sky. He could see explosions and smoke in the distance. Hitting a few buttons on the side, the thrusters hummed to life and built up in seconds. "Here we go!" He pushed the throttle forward. The Century shot up into the sky and flew towards its targets. Within a few minutes, Kazuo could finally see the UEG suits. They seemed to be in combat with 2 Federation Natsu's, one of which was damaged. He needed to get there quickly, otherwise both would be destroyed. He pushed the throttle as far as it would go.

Within 2 minutes, Kazuo almost there. The 3 Valdris' aimed at the Natsu's and prepared to fire. As they pulled the trigger, the Century landed right in their line of fire. The barrage of bullets pinged off of the shield and left small dents in the Gundams armor wherever it impacted. "These standard rounds don't seem to be enough to punch through the armor. The shield on the other hand doesn't even look affected. I bet, however, that if those bullets hit the exposed joints, that could cause some damage. Best not to expose them too much." The barrage let up after a while, the Valdris' needing to reload. The comm channels came to life. "What is that?" "I think it's a new model." "Doesn't matter if its new or old. It can be destroyed just the same. Now attack!" "Yes, commander!" Those must have been the Valdris pilots. The two flanking suits must be rookies.

Within moments of the commander giving the order, the two soldiers charged at him. Kazuo equipped one of the two beam swords and held it at the Gundam's side. He switched on the thrusters which were still cooling down. "It's cooled enough for one burst. That should be enough." As soon as they were a good distance away from the commander, Kazuo activated the thrusters. The pack on the Gundams back roared to life, and the Century shot forward as he pushed the throttle forward. The Valdris in front of him stopped and tried run, but it was too late. The beam connected with the midsection, tore through the armor, and exited through the back. The Century skidded to a halt behind them, the thruster overheated once more. He quickly sheathed the blade and drew his beam rifle. He spun around and aimed at the head of the other Valdris which had stopped and was now coming at him in a frenzy. "You'll pay for that you punk!" Kazuo squeezed the trigger and a beam tore through the head of the mobile suit, knocking out its optics. The mobile suit fell forward and crashed into the ground. Kazuo then moved his sights over the commanders head. "I do not wish to fight you. You have two choices. You may leave with your life, or you can attack and die. This is your only warning." It took a moment, but the commander finally responded. "This Commander Naito of the UEG 7th Fleet Special Division. I will withdraw, if you'll permit it." Kazuo lowered his weapon. "Permission granted, Commander Naito. I hope we don't meet again."

Without hesitation, the Valdris flew off towards the airlocks and exited the colony. Kazuo turned towards the two Natsu's who had been watching. "Are you both all right?" After a moment, one of them responded, though he couldn't tell which. "We're mobile, thats about it. Who are you anyway? Your IFF tag isn't displaying." Kazuo thought about his fathers request and pondered his answer. He almost immediately decided. "I am neither friend nor foe." The Federation pilot responded quickly. "I appreciate the help. After all, you saved our lives, but... you realize I can't just let you leave." An empty threat if Kazuo ever heard one. "I don't think you really have a choice." The Century turned towards the airlocks. "If we ever meet again, pray it is not as enemies." The thrusters cooldown period was complete. Kazuo started them up and flew off towards the airlocks.

As he neared the colony wall, he could see the signs of battle strewn across them. Scorch marks, dents created by explosions, bits of mobile suit parts, everything. He wondered just how many innocent civilians had died today. The casualties had to of been in the tens of thousands. Men, women, and even children, all gone. "Is this what war is like? All this pointless death and destruction?" These thoughts remained in his mind as the Century reached the airlock. It was meant for civilian mobile suits, but it was just big enough to fit the Century through. He extended the Century's hand, grasped the lock, and turned it. He floated back and away from the door as it opened. He slipped inside, and it shut behind him. He flew through the passage, using the thrusters only to push him through the zero-g environment. He reached the outer wall in approximately 3 minutes. The door slid open, and he slipped out in to the vacuum of space. He realized he didn't have a pilot suit, but so long as the cockpit wasn't breached, he would be fine, for the most part. Though he would have to find a suit at some point.

The Century flew through space, Earth taking up the majority of the view screen. He felt unprepared for the days to come, but he would have to make do. He set a course for Earth's current temperate region, and let the mobile suits auto-pilot take over while he rested.

(Authors Note: Chapter 3 will be coming soon, but I would appreciate any kind of feedback. That way I know what people think of it. Comments, chapter reviews, criticisms, anything.)


	4. Chapter 3: The World Below

Chapter 3: The World Below

_Since the dawn of time, mankind has strived to give itself meaning and purpose. War was created to give men purpose through fighting. Religion was created to give people meaning through faith, but has unintentionally led to wars of the past. Yet, even with these things present, where does my life stand? For the longest time, I felt I had no purpose in life. However, the recent tragedies of my life, have revealed my reason for living. I will end this war and prevent subsequent ones, so that no one else will ever have to suffer the same tragedies that I have. However, can I do this alone?_

After about 2 hours of flying, the Century was almost at the Earth's gravity well. Kazuo was awoken by the sound of the Century's alarm system, which in this case, had been activated by the somewhat sentient AI who had apparently been watching him sleep. As he sat up, he wished he could shut off the AI, but he also figured that the AI might be running important systems such as his oxygen supply. Without a pilot suit, he wouldn't last without it. Yet another reason he needed to find one. The alarm shut off, and he turned his gaze to the view screen. In front of him was Earth, the birthplace of humanity. It looked so much different than it once did. Landmasses had shifted from the colony's impact, the global climate change making previously habitable regions uninhabitable without assistance. Nations had been devastated and as a result older nations gave way to newer ones.

Kazuo checked his intended path of descent. His destination was the United Federation of States, or UFS for short. The United States of America had been hit hard after the colony drop, and eventually fell apart. Many US citizens fled eastward, and eventually, the UFS was formed, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. However, the UFS also happened to be the seat of power for the UEG. He would have to tread lightly if he intended to stay off the UEG's map.

Half an hour passed, and the Century entered the gravity well, being pulled towards the planets surface. Luckily for him, the Century was rated for atmospheric re-entry. As it began to fall faster and faster, heat built up considerably around the mobile suit. The cockpits temperature increased as well, but thanks to the AI, it remained cool enough to survive. It took a while, but eventually he could see through the optics again. He was still on course to his destination. After falling through some clouds, he came out the other side and saw the lights below. It was nighttime on Earth in this particular hemisphere. To the people below, he probably looked like a meteor falling from orbit. Everyone would just write him off as such. As he descended, he scanned the surface for anywhere he could land safely without being spotted. An abandoned mobile suit hangar came up on screen. It was 7 miles from the nearest settlement. It was the ideal place to set down.

As he grew ever closer to the ground, Kazuo couldn't help, but stare in amazement at the lights. From above, they looked beautiful. On the colonies, they had nighttime as well, but it wasn't natural like this. Nothing on the colonies was natural. However, he was eventually brought back to his senses as the Century's alarm sounded again. A model of the Century appeared on screen. A portion of its left leg was highlighted in red. He had forgotten that while the Century was advanced in its technology, it was mostly made of prototype parts. Something wasn't right with the leg, that much he could tell, but what it was exactly, he wouldn't know till he could get out and inspect it. For the moment, he focused on reaching his destination, which was fast approaching. "Good thing i'm wearing my seat belt." The right leg touched the ground, the left one not responding. He forced the Gundam to turn on its heel. The lack of balance caused it to fall over and go skidding across the ground. Due to a lack of a helmet, Kazuo banged his head off the pilots seat and was knocked unconcious.

Kazuo came to a few minutes later with a bit of a headache. "On a normal day, that would've been fun, but this is just painful." After giving it a few seconds, the headache subsided enough for him to move. He unbuckled himself, hit a button on the keyboard, and pushed it away. The hatch hissed open. Kazuo climbed out of the cockpit and stepped onto the chest armor. He never had a chance to really get a good look at it before, but the Gundam was huge. It had to be about 21 meters tall at least. The Federation Natsu was around 18 meters tall, while the UEG Valdris was approximately 20 meters. Setting aside his amazement for the time being, Kazuo climbed down to the left leg and looked over it as best he could in the dark. The damage seemed minimal, but it seemed at least two rounds had penetrated the knee joints back on Elysium. "Damn. I can't be careless like that." Coincidently, he crashed near the abandoned mobile suit hangar he had been aiming for. "Perhaps I can find some spare parts in their." He hopped off the mobile suit and started walking towards the hangar.

It took him about 10 minutes to reach the hangar on foot. When he arrived, he was able to get a good look at the place. On the outside, it was a bit beat up, but otherwise, looked fine. Though looks could be deceiving. Kazuo found the entrance to the hangar and stepped inside. It was dark, and looked as though it has been abandoned for a while. He felt around the wall for a while before finding a switch. Pressing it, the lights in the hangar came on. Kazuo was shocked at its size. It was bigger on the inside than it had initially appeared. The Gundam could easily fit into it and stand straight up. Something else caught his attention though. There was a mobile suit in the back. He had never seen anything like it before. It also seemed well kept, a contrast to the place it resided in.

Curious, Kazuo took strides down the catwalk, trying to get closer to the mobile suit. He went as far as the catwalk would go. Eventually, he came to another catwalk that spanned the length of the room, passing right in front of the mobile suit. He turned onto it and walked to the center. He turned to face it. "How old is this thing? Maybe..." He walked over to the railing and tried to see if there were any markings on it. "Lean any further and you're going to fall over." Kazuo was startled by a voice coming from his left. He turned to see an older man, possibly in his 50's or 60's. "Is this your mobile suit?" The old man laughed a bit, stood next to Kazuo, and looked up at the mech. "Aye, it is. The MS-003 Helion." Kazuo turned his gaze back to the suit, the Helion. "I've never heard of it before." The old man's expression seemed to become more neutral. "That's because this model was retired decades ago. It was one of the first mobile suit models constructed after the changing of the era. It was pulled out of service not long before the Colonial War." It suddenly hit Kazuo like a brick. He had forgotten to introduce himself, as well as the fact that he was now an uninvited guest on this mans property. He turned and bowed. "My apologies for trespassing, sir. My name's Kazuo Shimura." The old man looked at him. "Well, arn't you a polite and respectful young man. It is no trouble at all. I don't necessarily make my presence known very well, so it wouldn't be uncommon for someone to just walk in." The old man turned and began to walk back the way he came. "My names Charles Walton by the way." Kazuo followed Closely behind Charles.

After stepping off of the catwalk, the two headed down a flight of stairs. The old man could get around surprisingly well at whatever age he was. After taking a stroll through a hallway, they entered a medium sized room. On the walls hung portraits of various people. On the far wall was a board with newspaper clippings. There was a fridge, couch, chairs, bar, and even a television that was hanging on the wall. Kazuo looked at the various portraits and photo's as he went. He stopped in front of one in particular. The man in the photo looked exactly like Charles. Next to him was a woman. "Hey, Mr. Walton, who is this?" Charles turned away from what he was doing to look. When he saw the photo, his happy expression faded. "That's my wife. She died, 18 years ago, during the Colonial War." Kazuo looked at the picture, then turned to Charles. "Was she a pilot?" Charles expression remained unchanged, though Kaz could tell he was thinking, or trying not to. "No, she wasn't. We lived in the nearby town, Haven, with our daughter and her family. I was out of town when it happened. Federation forces moved in to attack the nearby UEG base. Haven was caught in the middle of the battle. My sweet Veronica..." A tear rolled down his cheek. "... There was no time to get out. Our home was destroyed. She was killed when it collapsed. Our daughter and her family made it out safely. I was thankful for that, but I never forgave myself for not being their when I was needed most." Charles turned around walked over to the bar. He pulled a bottle of whiskey from fridge, found a shot glass, and poured himself a glass.

Kazuo turned away from the photo. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have forced you to remember such unpleasant things." The tears in Charles eyes had faded and he seemed to be back to his normal self. "Its quite alright. Its good to remember, even if we don't want to admit it. I have a granddaughter your know. She reminded me a lot of Veronica. Its been years since I last saw her, 10 I think. She should be about your age by now." Kazuo looked confused. "You don't see her?" Charles knocked back the shot of whiskey. "Perhaps i'll tell you about it some other time. All i'll say, is that something happened, and I havn't gone back since. I've been living here ever since." Kazuo didn't push the subject any further. After all, he had only just met the old man.

Charles reached under the bar and pulled out a remote control. He switched on the TV and turned on the news. The news reporters voice came over the televisions speakers. "Tonight we bring you a breaking news story that is sweeping all over the Earth Sphere. Earlier this evening, UEG mobile suits infiltrated Elysium colony and laid siege to its mobile suit factories. Head Federation mobile suit researcher Tetsu Shimura has also been reportedly killed, along with his family. A crushing blow indeed to the Colonial Federation. Since the attack, the Colonial Federation has declared war on the United Earth Government. It is rumored that no peace talks occurred." Charles shut off the monitor. Kazuo's expression betrayed his identity. "It would seem, that one yet lives."

Kazuo turned to face Charles. "Are you going to kill me?" Charles leaned on the bar. "I have no quarrel against you or your family. You've done nothing to me, and so I shall do nothing to you. Nor will I turn you in to the UEG." Kazuo breathed a sigh of relief. He felt he could trust the old man. "Then I could use your help."

Kazuo watched as the old man drove out in a rather large recovery vehicle designed to carry damaged mobile suits. He wondered how it was even able to hold the mobile suit, considering just how heavy it likely was. Still, the old man managed, and brought it back to the hangar, standing it in front of the Helion. Kazuo looked up at the Gundam. The catwalk was apparently mobile, and it had been moved in front of the Gundam so that the pilot could have better access. Charles stood beside Kazuo and looked at it in amazement. "What is it?" Kazuo's expression was very serious. "The last mobile suit my father ever built... and with it, I will find a way to bring peace to this world." Charles looked at Kazuo. "Just how do you intend to do that? The world won't just throw down their weapons because you said so." Kazuo looked at the old man. "It may take years, but i'm willing to do everything I can to see that my fathers final wishes come true." He turned back to the Gundam. Charles did the same, looking at the head. "You're either an insane bastard, or, perhaps the first man i've met who is willing to do something about this world." Kazuo looked at him, his serious expression gone. He now had a look of surprise. "You mean..." Charles was now the serious one. "Aye, i'll help you in anyway I can. This is how I will atone. Veronica would have wanted me to help you." He started to walk away. "Guess i'll start by fixing up your mobile suit here. By the time you get back from town it'll be as good as new, perhaps with a few enhancements. Oh, and there's a room you can use downstairs. It has some clothes in it you could wear. Get out of that uniform." Before Kazuo could ask about the enhancements, Charles had already made it the stairs. Kaz smiled and headed for his new room to change.

Kazuo stepped into a dark room and hit a switch, turning on the lights. For a room that hadn't been used in a while, at least according to the old man, it was surprisingly neat and not a single cobweb in sight. He stepped inside, tossing his satchel on the bed, and walked over to the closet. Opening it, he peered at its contents. First thing he saw were a pair of black sneakers, still in good condition. Following that he spied a black T-Shirt, black long-sleeved sweater, dark brown pants, and a black jacket. The jacket had a collar, but no hood. He liked the style, so he picked out the T-Shirt, jacket, shoes, and pants. He took off his uniform and tossed it in the laundry basket for later. He slipped on the pants and shoes first. He put on the shirt and jacket last. He opted to keep the collar up. Looking in the mirror, Kazuo examined himself. "Not bad. Did theses used to be the old mans? They look too new." Satisfied none the less with his new look, Kazuo stepped out, shut off the lights, and headed towards Haven.

Almost 2 hours later, Kazuo arrived in Haven. He walked the entire way, and his feet were killing him. The town seemed peaceful. The only lights on that he could see were the streetlamps. He strolled through the town, taking in the sights. It was as if a war hadn't just started. He liked the feeling that the town gave off. It was relaxing. The one thing though, that caught his eye the most, was the ocean, glimmering in the moonlight. He stepped down to the beach and walked to the waters edge. He squatted for a second and let the water wash into his hands. He stood up and watched as the water drained from between his fingers. A voice called out from behind him. "Hello."

(Authors Note: Sorry for taking so long with this one everyone. I honestly had this one done last Friday, however, due to the fact that I am easily distracted, it took me longer to get it up. However, that's gonna change. I've already started on Chapter 4, and should have it up very soon.)


	5. Chapter 4: The Seeds of Friendship

Chapter 4: The Seeds of Friendship

_The feeling of loneliness. It haunts even the best of us. All of us feel this way at one time of another. That we're alone in this world, not physically, but emotionally. I used to think it wasn't possible. I had friends and best friends. Then the unthinkable happened, and I lost them all in a matter of hours. To this very second, I miss all of my friends, especially Frederick, dearly. Ever since I lost anyone I ever cared about, I've felt this ever-present feeling of loneliness. How much longer must I feel this way?_

"Hello." A voice called out from behind him. He let the water slip from his hands and turned to see who it was. Standing before him was a young girl. She couldn't have been any younger than he was. She had blonde hair that fell past her ears and framed her face. Her eye's were an emerald green. She had a light skin tone like his, and her body was thin. Her jaw was angular like his as well, though this seemed to be a trait a lot of people shared. She also seemed to be close to his height, perhaps an inch shorter. She was smiling at him as she walked up next to him and stared out at the ocean. Kazuo was blushing slightly, but turned to look at the ocean. "Good evening, miss." She looked over at him. "I havn't seen you before, so you must be new around here." Kazuo continued to look out at the ocean, the moonlight glimmering on its surface. "Yeah. Just arrived today. I live outside of town, about 5 miles from here. Figured I would check out the town." She chuckled. "Don't you think it's a little late?" He smiled and looked at her. "I could say the same to you." She laughed. "Touche." Her gaze returned to the ocean.

After a bit, it turned into somewhat of an awkward silence between the two. They simply stared at the ocean together. However, the silence must have been unbearable, so the girl broke the silence first. "So how old are you? You look young enough to still be in school but that isn't always the case." Kazuo turned his gaze to her. "Seventeen. I'm a senior." She looked at him. "Really? Wow, I pegged you for sixteen. Oh well. Seems we're the same age then." She turned to face him. "Which means we're also in the same class." Kazuo's expression seemed to be a little shocked. He hadn't even thought about going to school. All he had been thinking about doing was piloting the Gundam and stopping all the unnecessary fighting. He didn't know what he was going to do. However, he didn't want to leave her hanging so he decided to give her a temporary answer. "I hadn't even thought about attending school." Now she seemed shocked. "What do you mean you hadn't thought about it? Everyone has to go to school." Kazuo jumped slightly. The tone of her voice had risen. "I just moved here. I was under the impression I was gonna be home schooled." She straightened out a bit, shutting her eye's and sighing. "You know, going to an actual school is better than being home schooled. You should really consider it." She opened her eye's and smiled. Kazuo started rubbing the back of his head. "I suppose so. I'll give it some thought." She glared at him. "Promise?" He stopped rubbing his head and smiled. "Yeah, promise." She looked at him for a moment, looking at him up and down. Was she trying to see if he was lying or was she checking him out? He had no idea. She stopped examining him, seemingly satisfied. "You're telling the truth. Ok, i'll take your word for it." She turned towards the town. "Oh, I almost forgot, what's your name?" Kazuo turned around to face her. _I can't use my last name. Everyone probably knows my family name, so I need to go by something else. First name should be fine though._ "Kazuo. Kazuo Walton." After hearing his name, she seemed as if she was thinking about something, but it disappeared a second later. "You should come and hang out with me and my friends tomorrow. We'll show you the town. After all, you can see it better during the day." She chuckled to herself a bit, having gotten the last word on the subject of when people should be out. Before he could answer her, she started to walk away. "Hey! I didn't get your name!" She was already quite a bit away, but she apparently heard him since she stopped for a moment, and turned to look at him. "It's Yui!" She waved to him and then started to jog or run, he couldn't tell at this distance. He smiled, looked at the stars, and began the long walk back home.

* * *

Even as late as it was into the night, Charles was still wide awake. He leaned against the railing of the catwalk and stared up at the Gundam, which was shrouded in darkness since he turned off the main lights. _Gundam. What an odd name for a mobile suit. Still, the technology in this thing is far more advanced than my Helion._ As Charles completed his thought, he heard footsteps coming from his right. "You're finally back. Only took you 6 hours." Kazuo stepped up on his right and leaned on the railing as well. "Yeah, well, I made a friend while I was in town. I'll tell you about it some other time though. She asked me to come back in the afternoon to hang out with her and her friends." Charles gaze went from the Gundam to Kazuo. "Her? Even I wasn't that lucky when I was a teenager, and I was the most handsome guy in town." Charles started to laugh as much as his old body possibly could. Kazuo shut his eye's and tilted his head down. "Funny, I can't picture you being handsome. Just old and gray." Charles stopped laughing and turned to face him, his hands turned into fists. "Hey! Show some respect you ungrateful brat! I'm letting you live under my roof rent free!" Now Kazuo was the one laughing. "Calm down, old man, it was just a joke. Anyway, how's the repair work coming along?" Charles looked at him for a minute, then dropped his guard and went back to looking at the mobile suit. He pulled a remote out of his pocket and hit a button. The main hangar lights came on, nearly blinding Kazuo for a few seconds. As his vision finally settled, he could see the Century plain as day. "I fixed the problem with the leg. Seems like an oversight from a rushed assembly coupled with a round from a machine gun that got into the joint. Despite the fact that your AI friend in their didn't want to let me in, I managed to tweek the performance of your mobile suit. It should be much faster and responsive now. I also took the liberty of repainting it. Plain gray was a boring color scheme, so I decided to make it jet black with a few crimson red areas. Personally, I think it looks much cooler now." Kazuo looked it over, admiring the new paint job. That's actually not too bad. He glanced over at Charles. "What if I said I didn't like it?" Charles could tell Kaz was messing with him, but he went right along with it. "I'd tell you to deal with it, because I am not painting it again." A moment of silence passed, followed by both of them busting out laughing.

* * *

After a long night, Kazuo had finally managed to get some sleep, albeit plagued with memories of his family and friends. He had woken up by noon, and headed straight to town. He decided to run this time, and made it to Haven in a little less than an hour.

As he got further and further into town, it became a bit more dense, with buildings being closer together, resembling a miniature city. He passed a lot of family run stores on the way.

As he neared an intersection, he saw a familiar face in the distance waving to him. "Hey! Kazuo! Over here!" Kaz quickened his pace, crossed the street and walked up to her. "Hey. I'm not late am I?" She shook her head. "Nope. In fact, you're early."

Moments after he arrived, a shout rang out from somewhere behind Yui. "Hey! We're here!" Kazuo looked over her shoulder and saw 1 girl and 3 guys jogging towards them. When they came to a stop in front of them, all but one of them seemed to notice him. It was a girl, relatively the same height as Yui. "So, Yui, I figured we could go to the usual place today." Yui giggled. "Of course we're gonna go to the usual place, but first..." She turned so that everyone had a clear line of sight on Kazuo. "Everyone, this is Kazuo. He's the one I told you guys about." She then gestured to each one of her friends one by one. "Kazuo, these are my friends.

"Hey, I'm Kenji Fukusaku."

"Nori Okamoto. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Tamaki Utagawa."

As far as introductions went, that wasn't too bad. Kazuo bowed. "It is nice to meet you all." As he stood straight again, he noticed the girl closest to Yui hadn't introduced herself. In fact, she seemed to be studying him. She stepped in front of Yui. "I'm Yuki Kajiyama. Yui here is mine. Got that?" Kazuo was a little confused by that last statement. He had no idea what she was talking about. Yui stepped to the side of Yuki, seemingly a bit nervous. "Anyway, shall we get going?" Kazuo and everyone else nodded, Yuki still keeping an eye on him as if he was the most suspicious man in the world.

About 5 minutes later, they arrived at a restaurant called Oceanside Haven. The restaurant was at the edge of town by the beach. It was a nice red brick building with a balcony that gave anyone eating outside the best view of the ocean. The group of 7 sat down at the largest table on the balcony. Yui sat at the end of the table closest to the railing, while Kazuo sat opposite her. Yuki took a seat on Yui's right, while Nori sat on the left. Tamakii sat next to Nori, while Kenji took his seat next to Kazuo. They each ordered some food and something to drink, all the while spending their time chatting. Kazuo had opted not to talk about his past, not wanting to reveal who he really was. Perhaps one day he would, but for now, it would remain this way. This led to him not contributing much to the conversation. Nonetheless, everyone seemed to like him, minus Yuki who still seemed suspicious of him. The food soon arrived and everyone began to dig in. Tamaki went to bite down on his burger when he realized there wasn't ketchup. "What the... where's the ketchup?!" He got up and walked into the restaurant to find a bottle. Nori chuckled a bit and pulled out a bottle of hot sauce. "This is payback for yesterday." He peeled bottom bun off of Tamaki's burger off and poured hot sauce on it, placing the burger back on the bun when he was finished. Tamaki came back a moment later and sat down, pouring ketchup on top of the burger. Who took a bite out of it. For a few seconds, he seemed relatively normal, chewing away normally. However, before long, his face started to turn red, his eye's watered, and he dropped the burger, screamed, grabbed his glass of soda, and pretty much chugged his entire drink. "Who the hell put hot sauce on this?!" Everyone laughed, not revealing who actually did it.

A little while later, they had all finished eating and just sat around, continuing their conversations from earlier.

Nori: "So, did you guys see the news vids yesterday?"

Tamaki: "You mean the ones from Elysium colony, right?"

Nori: "Yeah. Supposedly that attack was made before war was officially declared."

Yui: "Why did they even start this war? Havn't both sides suffered enough?"

Tamaki: "If you ask me, the UEG is just trying to get their pride back after the Federation mopped the floor with their asses."

Yuki: "We live in UEG territory, remember Tamaki? Don't come crying to me when they come after you under suspicion of being a Federation spy."

Nori: "There was also that other footage. It was real short, but it showed what looked like a new Federation model. It just appeared out of nowhere, took out 2 Valdris', then left. No one's seen it since. That was 2 days ago. The UEG and the Federation have fought at least 2 battles since then, and in neither of those battles did it show up. Where do you think it went?"

Kenji: "Hey, yeah, I do remember seeing that footage. It was like a phantom. It cut through them like it was nothing."

Kazuo sat quietly for most of the conversation. He was quiet mainly because he didn't have anything to say just yet. Then everyone turned their gaze to Kazuo. He noticed and looked at each of them.

Kenji: "What?"

Tamaki: "Don't play stupid. What do you think of all of this?"

It took Kazuo a moment to find his answer. "I think this entire war is pointless. Innocent people died on that colony, and even more will continue to die unnecessarily unless someone puts an end to this war." No one seemed surprised by his answer. They all shared a neutral point of view after all. "What do you think of that new mobile suit though?" Kazuo thought about the Century sitting in the hangar only 5 miles from them. "It saved 2 Federation suits, but let one Earth suit go. I don't think anyone on either side would do something like that. Something tells me this mobile suit is sympathetic to neither side." Everyone seemed hesitant to agree right away. From the other end of the table Yui spoke up. "Well, if it isn't with either side, then who does it belong to?" Tamaki spoke up next. "Maybe it belongs to some private organization with a secret agenda." Nori naturally disagreed, just to get on Tamaki's nerves. "Thats impossible. Private organizations are usually out for their own gain. Like a PMC or something." Kenji eventually chimed in. "Maybe we'll figure out who it belongs to and what its intentions are when it shows up again." Everyone was in agreement on that. Kazuo sat quietly at his end of the table. The only one who seemed to notice was Yui.

By the time they left the restaurant, the sun was beginning to set. Nori, Tamaki, and Kenji said their goodbyes and left. Yuki stayed behind the longest, not wanting to leave Kaz and Yui alone together. However, she eventually conceded after Yui assured her that nothing would happen. The two of them walked towards Yui's home.

Yui: "So?"

Kazuo: "So what?"

Yui: "What did you think of everyone?"

Kazuo: "They're definitely an odd bunch. I think we'll get along great."

Yui laughed. "That's good. I was worried you wouldn't like them."

Kazuo: "Well, Ms. Kajiyama certainly didn't seem too fond of me."

Yui: "That's just how she is. She moved here a few years ago... and something happened. Ever since then she's clung to me."

Kazuo: "What happened?"

Yui: "It's not my place to say. Sorry. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you. Don't worry, she'll warm up to you eventually."

Kazuo: "I hope so. I don't wanna be public enemy number 1 forever."

About 5 minutes later, they reached Yui's house. "Ah, you're finally home." They both looked to see a man, seemingly between the age of 35 and 45, walk down the steps towards them. "Oh, dad, you're on leave?" He smiled. "The top brass finally decided to let me come home for a day or two, but I'll be going back soon." He looked at Kazuo. "Who's this?" Yui looked at Kaz. "Oh, I almost forgot. This is Kazuo Walton. I met him last night out on the beach. He just moved here and was checking out the town." Her father studied him for a moment, then extended his hand. "Shinjiro Naito. Pleasure ot meet you." Kazuo's expression went from happy to shocked.

"_This is Commander Naito of the UEG 7th Fleet Special Division."_ The memory sat in the front of Kazuo's mind. Was this the same man he had confronted on Elysium? No, there was no doubt. His voice was the same as was his last name. Kazuo had this urge to kill him for what he did on Elysium, but... he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not only would it blow his cover completely, but it would hurt Yui, and he had no intention of doing so.

"Is something wrong?" Shinjiro's words brought him out of his thoughts. "Oh, it's nothing." He grabbed his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you." Shinjiro released his grip. "Well, hurry up and say goodnight Yui. I do want to spend some time with my daughter before I leave." Shinjiro turned and went inside. Yui looked at Kaz. "Well, goodnight. Don't get into any trouble alright?" Kazuo nodded. "Its a promise." She smiled and went inside. Kazuo took a few steps before looking back at the Naito household. He smiled and kept walking.

Kazuo walked along the road, heading back towards the hangar. The night was still and peaceful as always. He stopped and sat on the hill. "The view of the ocean and night sky is so beautiful compared to the colonies. I hope it'll stay like this one day." That thought was cut short as an explosion appeared in the distance over the ocean. Kazuo stood up. Another explosion appeared and sound washed over him. The war had reached Haven.

Moments after seeing the explosions, Kazuo sprinted to the hangar. He burst inside. "Mr. Walton!" Charles was already prepping the Century for launch. "The Gundam is all set to go! I made you a pilot suit. go put it on!" Kazuo ran across the catwalk, the sound of banging metal reverberating throughout the hangar. He reached the bottom of the stairwell and headed to his room. Opening his closet, he saw his new pilot suit inside. He pulled it out and looked at it. It was black and red, same as the Gundam's new color scheme. It was mostly black with a few red lines flowing like circuitry all over the suit. He wasted no time putting it on. When he had sealed it up, he grabbed his helmet and headed back out into the hangar. Charles had gone into the control room to get the hangar door open. Kazuo stood at the center of the catwalk, looking up at the Gundam. _Gundam. It's time we made our formal debut, and made our intentions clear to the world._ He slipped the helmet on his head, and locked in it place.

(Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Honestly, it was the hardest one for me to write so far. Hopefully that won't be the case for similar chapters in the future. Just an FYI, I got a little experimental with the conversations in this chapter. So if it seems a bit too much like a script at times, I apologize. It just makes it easier to tell who's speaking. I have not started Chapter 5 yet, though I promise it will contain action.)


	6. Chapter 5: The Phantom Mobile Suit

Chapter 5: The Phantom Mobile Suit

_Mankind has always struggled with the concept of morality. For most people, it's good versus evil. Yet to others, a persons actions define who they are, something no one can label. I personally believe in the latter. When you label someone, that label is permanent. Label someone a hero, and everyone will expect great things from them and that they will always be a hero. When in reality, they can easily change in the blink of an eye. Being labeled is inevitable in times of war, but I wonder, what will my actions say about me? What will the people of the world choose to label me?_

The evening breeze blew through the town of Haven. The town was still and silent in the night. Shinjiro Naito sat on the porch of his home, smoking a cigarette. "Father, you said you were going to quit." Shinjiro turned to see his daughter standing in the door. "I know, Yui. It's just tough, what with the war going on. This is the first chance i've had to relax in a while." Yui stepped outside and sat next to him. "How long do you think this war will last?" Shinjiro removed the cigarette from his mouth and blew a trail of smoke into the air. "I don't know, Yui. I'm a soldier, i'm not paid to think or end wars. I'm do what i'm told like a cog in a well oiled machine. If they tell me the colonies are our enemies, then i'll fight them, whether they've done anything to me personally or not." Yui looked at him, seemingly angry. "But that isn't right! Just because-" Shinjiro cut her off. "I know it isn't, but it's the way things are. There's nothing we can do about it." Yui was about to object, but at that moment Shinjiro's cell phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket, hit the answer button, and placed it to his ear. "Shinjiro here... What?! I'll be right their!" Shinjiro hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Federation forces have been engaged over the ocean." He jogged over to his truck and got in. Yui followed him over and stood next to the window. Shinjiro started the truck and looked at Yui. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay here and don't leave the house. I love you." Shinjiro hit the gas and sped away towards the UEG base not too far from the city.

Yui watched as her fathers truck sped down the road, and eventually, out of sight. "Love you too dad. Come home safe." She put her hands together, a tear forming in her eye. A moment later, as if she hadn't heard a single thing her father said, she took off towards the ocean.

Shinjiro pulled up to the bases front gate. The guard opened the gate for him and he drove straight in, parking near the hangar complex. He hopped out of his truck and jogged into the hangar, making a b-line to the lockers. He quickly found his locker and pulled his pilot gear out. As he slipped it on, he heard a familiar voice. "Commander Naito!" Shinjiro looked over to see Toju Satou walking towards him. "Evening Lieutenant. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Toju stopped next to him. "Looks like i've been placed under your command again sir. We're set to head out in a few minutes." Shinjiro zipped up his suit and grabbed his helmet, shutting his locker. "Then let's be on our way Lieutenant." Shinjiro put a hand on Toju's shoulder as he passed by, letting go a few seconds later. Toju smiled and turned to follow him. "Yes, sir!"

They stepped out into the main hangar. Shinjiro headed for his Valdris Command Unit which had thicker armor than the standard model. It also had a quicker response time. It had been customized based on Shinjiro's preferences in combat, making it a mid-range type. He stepped onto the repelling line, hit the switch on the cable, and ascended up to the cockpit.

Following suit, Toju climbed into his Xenos, which was painted a crimson red. The Xenos was a new model and had been given to Toju for testing. It's armor was more resistant to ballistics than previous models like the Valdris and it had a powerful rifle. While it has a mid to long range weapon, it also has a single physical blade capable of cutting through just about anything. Because of his close combat preference, Toju had the suit modified with enhanced thrusters for superior maneuverability. This unmatched speed on the battlefield earned him the nickname "The Crimson Blaze".

Sitting in the pilots seat and slipping his helmet on, Toju shut the hatch and watched as the screens flashed on. "Those colonists are gonna regret coming near here." He smirked.

Shinjiro moved his Valdris to the hangar bay doors, Toju and a group of 7 Valdris' following closely behind. The hangar doors slid open. Shinjiro and his team stepped out into the large courtyard. "Alright everyone, listen up! Some colonials were spotted off the coast near Haven. Our job is to take them out as quickly as possible with minimal damage to the town. Got it?!" The soldiers, including Toju, shouted in unison. "Yes, sir!" Shinjiro smiled. "Commander Shinjiro Naito, taking off!" The thrusters ignited on all of the mobile suits, and they launched into the air. Toju eased off the throttle so he'd be in formation with the rest of the squad.

Citizens in Haven looked out of their windows to see what all the commotion was about. Not a moment later, 9 UEG mobile suit's flew overhead, heading towards the ocean. As they drew ever closer, they could see the explosions in the distance. The mobile suits blasted over the water, leaving trails in their wake.

Minutes later, they reached the battlefield. 4 UEG Valdris suits were engaged in battle against 10 Federation Natsu's and one new model. Shinjiro opened a comm channel to his team. "All right, watch each others backs, strike at the most dangerous suits first, leave the weaklings for last. Lieutenant Satou, take the new model." An eager Toju came back over the comms. "With pleasure, sir!" The Xenos broke off from the main group and sped towards the unknown model. Shinjiro slowed and watched as the rest of his team flew past him. _Come back alive... all of you._

The fighting raged for quite a while. Blades clashed, bullets flew in all directions, rockets sped past, barely missing their marks. So far, 2 Natsu's had fallen, and not a single Valdris had taken severe damage. The new model couldn't keep up with the Xenos speed, but it made up for it in defensive power, being able to hold it at bay. The fighting was slowly making its way towards Haven as the mobile suits flew in all directions. Shinjiro took down one Natsu, seemingly frustrated at how well organized the enemy forces were. "Form a defensive line! We have to keep them away from the town!" The Xenos and Valdris' moved back to Shinjiro's position, forming a wall. The Natsu's and the new model assaulted the mobile suit wall, taking relatively small amounts of damage from the UEG's fire. A stray shot flew through the air and struck the head of a Valdris. With the optics destroyed, the pilot couldn't see, rendering the mobile suit useless to a degree. The Natsu's used this to their advantage and charged the new weak point in the wall. One Natsu fell to enemy fire, but the rest managed to break through and flew straight to the town. One of the Valdris pilots aimed his rocket launcher and fired one off, aimed at the lead suit.

Yui had been running for what seemed like an hour, but it couldn't have been more than 10-20 minutes. She finally made it to the beach. Above its waters in the distance she could see the raging battle. _Father..._

The battle soon spread towards the beach as the Federation suits pushed through the UEG blockade. They were headed straight for her. Fear spread across her face. Would they attack the town? Use it as a shield? Or fly straight over it? All the outcomes terrified her. One of the Valdris' fired a rocket at the Federation forces, trying to keep them from getting to the town, but the suit that it was aiming for rolled out of the way, and the rocket streaked straight towards the beach. It was headed straight for Yui.

Shinjiro watched as the rocket streaked through the night, blazing towards its intended target, but at the last possible second, the Natsu rolled out of the way, and the rocket was sent flying towards the beach. Shinjiro's optics zoomed in on the beach, detecting a single person. "Yui!" She was right in the rockets flight path, and no way out. Shinjiro pushed his Valdris as far as it could go, but no matter how fast he went, it would be too late. Even the Xenos, which was way ahead of them, couldn't reach it In time. Suddenly, his sensors went off. He saw a flash of light to his left. It streaked through the nights sky and headed straight towards Yui's location and the rockets flight path. All of the mobile suits stopped, including the Federation suits.

Yui could only watch with fear as the rocket sped towards her, growing ever closer. She knew she was going to die. She was afraid. She wondered why she had come out instead of staying home like her father had told her. Out of instinct, she raised her arms, trying to shield herself. The rocket detonated and heat washed over her... but she was fine. She slowly opened her eyes and lowered her arms.

Shinjiro watched as the streak stopped in front of Yui. The rocket impacted on something and detonated. The explosion seemed to have been dispersed over something. He zoomed in as far as he could and scanned with night vision. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a mobile suit as black as night with red streaks all along its body. Despite the color scheme, he recognized the design. It was the same mobile suit he had seen on Elysium. "So... it was here on Earth all along." It's shield was raised above it, meaning the rocket had impacted on it, but... it appeared almost completely unscathed.

A mobile suit, as black as night, towered above Yui. It was kneeling, its shield raised to the sky. Its arm reached out to her, palm opened, as if gesturing for her to get on. She hesitated for a moment, but something made her trust it. She climbed onto the hand. The hand raised itself up to a red portion of the chest armor. It hissed and opened, revealing the cockpit inside. A man stepped slightly out of the hatch. He was wearing a black pilot suit and helmet. The visor on the helmet was dark, no face visible inside it. The man extended his hand. He spoke, his voice seemingly synthesized. "Don't be afraid. You can trust me." Yui hesitated. This man was a stranger. He could have any number of reasons for wanting her to get in the cockpit with him, but something seemed familiar about him, though she couldn't quite place what it was. Something made her trust him, whatever it was. Common sense told her not to, but her heart told her she could trust him. So she reached out and took his hand. He pulled her inside. She slipped behind the pilots seat while he sat down. The hatch closed and sealed itself tight. The holographic displays lit up the interior. Even with the illumination, she still couldn't see past his visor. Was this intentional?

The mobile suit stood as tall as it could. It turned towards the mobile suit's hovering above the ocean. The emerald optics flashed to life. Kazuo turned on the thrusters, removed the beam sword from the side holster, and pushed the throttle as far as it would go. The Gundam kneeled for a slight second as the thrusters built up, then shot off into the night sky towards the mobile suits.

The Federation suit's hesitated for a mere moment before charging him... a very bad mistake. The beam sword connected with the first suit as he flew past it. The Natsu was sheared in half, and detonated. Two Natsu's tried to overtake him, but to no avail. The first one grabbed onto him from behind. He flipped the beam sword in the Gundams hand and thrust It backwards, into the right side of the mobile suit. The sword cut through vital systems. Kazuo tore the sword out through what was left of the right side and brought it around in a sideways slash. It connected with the lower left half of the oncoming second mobile suit and tore straight upwards. The blade came out of the right shoulder. Taking the small reprieve, the Century launched upwards away from the two suits, which both detonated a moment later.

While Kazuo was busy fighting the Federation suits, the UEG forces took the opportunity to strike as well. The 9 UEG Valdris suits, and the Xenos, sped off towards the battle. Shinjiro didn't move. "Hey! Get back here! That's an order!" There was no response. Shinjiro took off after them.

Kazuo sliced through another Natsu, this one only disabled, and fell into the ocean below. His motion sensors went off, detecting the incoming UEG suits. One of them came straight at him. It was a crimson red. Using the Gundams enhanced response time, Kazuo swung the Gundams foot straight at the crimson mobile suit, which left itself exposed. The foot connected with the side of the mobile suit and sent it reeling into the ocean below. The other UEG suits were lagging behind, so Kazuo took the opportunity to strike at the Federations new model which seemed to have been giving the UEG suits so much trouble earlier. The Century's shield collapsed into a smaller form, giving his left arm more room to move. He tossed the beam sword to his left hand. He kicked the thrusters into high gear once more, the Gundam shooting off towards the new model. The new model pulled out its own melee weapon, a physical blade. Kazuo's beam sword connected with it, tearing through it, into the right shoulder, and sheering off the right arm entirely. The arm fell towards the ocean, but exploded before crashing into the water. In that brief moment, Kazuo had taken out the Gundams beam rifle, pointed it at the new model, and fired. The round tore through the cockpit. The systems inside exploded, and a second later, the entire suit went up like a flare.

The Century's motion sensors went off once more, signaling the arrival of the UEG suits. They engaged the remainder of the Federation forces. Bullets flew in every direction. A Valdris sped towards him. Kazuo raised the beam sword and cut a diagonal line through the suit. The blade had started at the left shoulder, tore its way through the core and the cockpit, and exited through the lower right side. The Valdris exploded. Kazuo resheathed the beam sword on his right side, and extended the shield. Bullets pinged off the shield as 3 of the Valdris' fired at him, attempting to avenge their fallen comrade. He aimed his beam rifle and fired. One round tore through the optics of one Valdris, sending it into the ocean below. The second round tore through the core of the second Valdris. The third one broke off, knowing its demise was imminent should it stay. It joined up with its remaining squad mates who were assaulting the Federation forces.

The Federation and UEG forces tore at each other, almost ignoring Kazuo's presence now. One by one, they fell. Kazuo personally saw that the last remaining suit was destroyed, a UEG Valdris. He shot it right in the back, taking out its core. It exploded soon after. Only a single Natsu remained, having hidden away from the battlefield.

Commander Shinjiro arrived just in time to see his entire team get wiped out by a single mobile suit, that had also almost single-handedly taken out all of the Federation forces. The Xenos finally emerged from the ocean depths, Toju having finally gotten it to function again. Shinjiro put his Valdris in the Xenos' path.

"Why did you stop me?!"

"Because you'll die if you proceed further."

"I can take-" He was cut off.

"My daughter is inside that suit."

Toju lowered his weapon. He had no idea she was in there. He had tried to attack it before. No wonder the Commander had stayed back. He didn't want to risk harming his own daughter.

The Gundam hovered in the air. It lowered its weapons. Through his optics, Kazuo could make out news bots, hovering around the battlefield. The battle was being broadcast live to the entire Earth Sphere. Kazuo turned on the Gundam's external speakers, small speakers hidden beneath the armor, but had tremendous range, able to be heard as far as Haven. He wanted the world to hear his message. His helmets voice masker kicked on, his voice seemingly synthesized. "Citizens of the Earth Sphere! Let it be known, I fight for neither the United Earth Government or the Colonial Federation. My battle is with war itself... and all who support it! For as long as war continues, I will be their, like a phantom in the darkness, striking down all who call war necessary! This is my warning." His speakers shut off, his message broadcast to the entire Earth Sphere.

The Century's thrusters came to life, and the Gundam glided towards Shinjiro's Valdris. He stopped in front of it by 10 feet. The Gundam's cockpit hatch opened with a hiss. Kazuo stepped out onto the hatch, his helmet still on and his visor as black as the rest of his suit. No one could see his face. He turned and extended his hand inside the Gundam. Yui took his hand, and he helped her onto the hatch. The Valdris' hatch opened as well, the two open hatches connecting like a bridge. Kazuo let go of her hand and nodded in her fathers direction. She began walking, and about halfway, she stopped and looked back at him. She stared directly into his visor, their eye's meeting, even if she didn't know it. She turned and walked to her father. They embraced. "Yui. I'm glad you're safe. Are you all right?" She looked up at him, smiled, and nodded. "Yes, i'm okay father, thanks to him." They both looked at Kazuo. "While I cannot forgive you for the deaths of my men... I will thank you, for saving my daughters life." Kazuo acknowledged Shinjiro's thank you with a nod, and stepped back inside the cockpit, sitting in the pilots seat. The hatch slowly closed, Shinjiro and Yui not taking their eye's off of him until they could not see him anymore. The Century's hatch hissed as it sealed tight, and the Gundam glided backwards. The two of them stepped inside the Valdris, and its hatch too shut.

Toju watched the entire exchange with hatred in his eyes. While he was glad that she was safe, he still hated this man with all his being. Some of those pilots were his friends. How could he ever forgive him? "Commander!" Shinjiro's voice came over the comms. "We will not pursue him. Not this time. You will have your chance soon enough." Toju slammed his fist on the console out of frustration. He watched as the Gundam turned and sped off into the night. Its signal mysteriously disappeared, despite the fact that it still should have been within range of his sensors. Since there was nothing he could do, he returned his focus to the lone Federation suit, however while they were distracted, it had limped off and out of their range. With nothing more to do, they set off back to the base. They had messages to send and funerals to arrange.

All over the Earth Sphere, every news station played footage of the battle that had just taken place. Millions of people had watched the broadcasts. The footage was replayed over and over again, the Gundam being displayed prominently and Kazuo's message broadcast with the utmost clarity. People needed a name for this mobile suit, this mysterious jet black suit that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and disappeared without a trace. The people of the world began calling it, the phantom mobile suit, and it's pilot was similarly named Phantoma. Seemingly overnight, groups formed in support of Phantoma and his goals. However, his actions had not won over a majority of the population, making these growing movements small blips on a radar.

Somewhere above the Earth, a man sat in an ornate chair, staring out at the Earth. In front of him lay a chessboard, with only a few pieces moved on either side. Another man entered the room and set up another board adjacent to this one. The man left the room, leaving the original one, the only one left in the room. He pulled a new piece out of his pocket, this one looking different from the others. He placed it on the new board, and slid the new piece one space forward.


	7. Chapter 6: Crossed Swords

Chapter 6: The Crossed Swords

For the last 2 hours, the staff at the Haven UEG base had been waiting for any word from Commander Naito's team. The fighting had stopped over 5 minutes ago, signaled by the silence that now hung over the base. So far, no one had established contact with the team, and everyone prepared for the worst. Just as they were about to call it a night and list the entire team as KIA, one of the soldiers in the watchtower spotted mobile suits in the distance. "Hey! I see mobile suits!" Everyone that could hear dropped what they were doing and went to see.

2 minutes later, Shinjiro's Valdris and Toju's Xenos touched down gently outside the hangar and proceded slowly in. Every soldier at the base knew what the return of only 2 men meant. The mobile suits took up their positions in the hangar, powered down, and the hatches opened. Toju came out first, and repelled down to the hangar floor. They could tell by the look on his face that things had not gone smoothly. For 3 minutes, Shinjiro didn't come out of his suit. Then he finally emerged, his daughter in his arms. Everyone knew she had not left with him, so how did she get in there? They repelled down and touched down on the concrete floor gently.

Toju made his way over to Shinjiro and Yui. He looked as if he were about to say something, but was stopped by Shinjiro, who set his hand on Toju's left shoulder. "It's all right. There was nothing you could have done." He removed his hand from his shoulder. "Now, take Yui home. I have to make my report to the General." Toju saluted, and Shinjiro did the same. A moment later, Toju and Yui left the base heading for the Naito household. Shinjiro watched them leave. _For a boy of only seventeen, he's quite the soldier._

Shinjiro made his way to the Generals' Quarters to make his report. Arriving at the room, he knocked on the door. He heard a voice call from within. "Come in." The door slid open automatically and Shinjiro stepped in, the door sliding shut behind him. He stepped up to the Generals desk and saluted. "Commander Shinjiro Naito, here to make my report, General Ozwald." Ozwald was an older gentleman, about the same height as Shinjiro, but with gray hair and rougher features. "At ease, Commander." Shinjiro lowered his arm. "Sir. As ordered we formed up and headed to our forces aid over the New Pacific Ocean. When we arrived, what was left of them were engaged in battle against a force similar in size to our own, at least 10 strong. They had a new model with them. We engaged the enemy with everything we had, trying to keep them away from Haven. However, they broke through our line, after taking out Warrant Officer Hughes. As they were about to reach the city, an unidentified mobile suit appeared from the west. It was the same one from my earlier report." Ozwald was holding up a file, the report on the Elysium op. "Ah yes, the mysterious new Federation model." Shinjiro nodded. "There was no mistake, it was the same mobile suit. At first, it seemed as though it had come to our aid this time, focusing its assault on the Federation forces. It took out a sizable number of them on its own in no time. I've never seen anything quite like it. Lieutenant Satou arrived at the battlefield ahead of the rest of the group, and was incapacitated for the rest of the battle, his mobile suit wasn't equipped for underwater operations. We're just lucky he was able to get out of the water. When the rest of us arrived, the Federation was nearly gone, only a few suits remained. Out of revenge, the men under my command assaulted the unidentified mobile suit, disobeying direct orders not to. They paid dearly for it with their lives. It did not discriminate. It struck down all who dared to stand against it. When there was nothing left of my team except for me and Lieutenant Satou, as well as a lone Federation suit, it halted its assault. The pilot made an announcement about his intentions." Ozwald had lit a cigar while Shinjiro was talking. He removed it from his mouth and blew a trail of smoke into the air. "So I heard. Trying to end a war through force. He's likely to get himself killed..." He stopped for a moment, then spoke again. "... you and Lieutenant Satou could have taken him. So why didn't you?" Shinjiro paused for a moment, but felt that he shouldn't hide the facts from his superior who would likely find out later. "My daughter found her way to the edge of town, against my wishes for her to remain at home till I returned. I nearly lost her when one of my own men fired a rocket towards a Federation suit that dodged it, sending it on a direct course to the town. If it wasn't for that mobile suit... I would have lost her, sir. That's when it appeared. Its first act was to save her. The pilot kept her safe throughout the entire battle, and returned her to me when the fighting was over, despite his threat to me the last time we had met."

His memory of the Elysium operation flooded into his mind. They had received word that the Federation was preparing to attack Earth, using Elysium as a staging point. His team had been sent in to scout out the colony, and prevent them from attacking by any means necessary. Some additional men had been attached to the team right before departure. He had never seen any of them, but they claimed to be specialists. When they arrived at the colony, his team was engaged by Federation patrols who had spotted them. The specialist team had gone to the other end of the colony. It was almost 3 hours after the fighting had began, when he received word from some of his men that the specialists had been wiped out, and that they were engaging a new model. That was the last he had heard from them. As they prepared to finish off their pursuers and flee the colony, the same new model his team had reported earlier appeared and interrupted their battle. It dispatched his last remaining men, but spared him. "I do not wish to fight you. You have two choices. You may leave with your life, or you can attack and die. This is your only warning." Shinjiro had opted to flee with his life. The last thing the pilot said was that he did not want to see him again. While the pilots voice sounded devoid of emotion, Shinjiro could detect a hint of anger behind it. Now that he thought about it, the voice sounded familiar, but he could not place it.

Returning to reality, Shinjiro finished his report. "It was not in our best interest to pursue the mobile suit. We returned to base as soon as we could." The General took one last puff of his cigar before putting it out in his ash tray. "The people have begun to take a liking to that mobile suit and its pilot. A small amount when the entire population is taken into account, but it's still there. They've named the pilot, Phantoma, and his mobile suit, referred to as 'The Phantom Mobile Suit'. Would sound like a bunch of superstitious nonsense if I hadn't heard and seen it for myself." General Ozwald stood up and walked over to Shinjiro on the other side of his desk. "Whether this Phantoma likes it or not, he has become and enemy of the UEG, and like an enemy to the Federation as well. We'll see if he can truly do what he says he can, but as far as i'm concerned, he is from the colonies, and therefore is a natural enemy of anyone here on Earth. The next time you face him in battle, I want that mobile suit's destruction to be your number one priority. Do I make myself clear, Commander Naito?" Shinjiro saluted. "Yes, sir." Ozwald inspected him for a moment, seemingly satisfied he righted himself and sat back down at his desk. "Very well then, that is all. I'm extending your shore leave. Spend as much of it with your daughter as you can. I'm sure Lieutenant Satou will likely be joining you." Ozwald pulled out a check and wrote down a figure on it, and signed it, handing it to Shinjiro. "There's your pay, I added a little extra to it. Our little secret, Commander." Shinjiro didn't salute this time, the meeting formally over. "Thank you, sir. I'll put it to good use." The General nodded as Shinjiro turned and left.

* * *

Charles stood at the bar in the lounge, the TV turned to the news. He had seen everything that had occurred, including the follow-up stories on the growing supporters of Kazuo, or Phantoma, as they saw fit to call him. It wasn't long until he heard the heavy thud of the Gundam landing outside of the hangar and his entrance into the hangar. A few minutes later, Kazuo came walking down the steps, helmet in hand. He stepped into the lounge and looked at the TV, the same news stories replaying since it was the only thing worthy of note tonight. "Seems you've become quite famous." Kazuo watched the news story for a minute before responding. "Phantoma huh? Not the worst name i've ever heard, but not the best either." Charles chuckled. "I think it suits you."

Kazuo left the lounge shortly after and headed for his room. As he flipped on the light, he could tell someone had been in there, and the only other person here was Charles. Kaz stepped over to his closet and started to remove his pilot suit. When he slid the closet door open, he immediately noticed a new addition to his wardrobe. He hung up his suit and pulled out the new article of clothing: A High School uniform. Inside one of the inner pockets was a note. Not wanting to get his new uniform dirty, he walked over to his bed and laid it down gently. He pulled the note out and opened it up. _I figured that since you would be staying here for quite a while, I decided it would be best for you to attend school. I've already filled out the necessary paperwork. As far as anyone is concerned, i'm your grandfather. Your first day of school will be tomorrow. Get up early, because you're walking to school. - Charles_

Well, it wasn't the most well written letter he'd ever gotten, but he appreciated it none the less. Putting the note down, he took a good look at the uniform. It wasn't all that different from his Elysium Academy uniform. In fact, he wondered if the school he was attending was even a normal school. The uniform was black with golden buttons and some silvery stitching. The school emblem was stitched onto the left breast portion. The emblem itself lended credence to his theory that it was indeed a more upper-class school he was going to attend.

Feeling exhausted from the days activities, he moved the note to the desk by the far wall and hung the uniform up in his closet. He then shut off the light, and went to sleep.

* * *

The night drew ever onward, the cold mist from the sea mixed with the smell of smoke from the aftermath of the battle. In the dark of Haven, a military jeep drove through the streets. Before long, it pulled up out front of the Naito household. Yui stepped out of the passenger seat and Toju from the shotgun seat. They stopped at the steps to the front door for a moment. "Are you all right?" Yui turned to look at Toju. "Yeah, i'm fine. Why?" Toju seemed a little shocked. "After all you've been through tonight, arn't you a little shaken up?" Yui's expression seemed to shift a little. "I was at first, but something about that man was calming." Toju looked a little worried. "I wouldn't think about him if I were you. He'll be gone soon enough, and it'll be by my hand." Yui looked at him with an angry look. "Why?! He's fighting to end this war!" Toju argued back. "He killed a lot of men out their tonight. All of them my friends! Of course I want revenge on him. If he killed someone precious to you, wouldn't you want to do the same? Can you honestly say, that if your father was killed, that you would still support him? Can you?" Yui looked as though she was going to retaliate, but her shift in expression betrayed her true feelings. "... you're right. If I lost my father... i'd want to avenge him to." Toju lost his aggression. "... sorry. I didn't mean to go that far." Yui shook her head. "It's all right." Toju smiled and walked back to the jeep, sitting where he had before. He looked over at Yui. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." Yui nodded and waved as the jeep pulled away. She knew Toju didn't mean to bring up the possibility of her father being killed in action. It had merely slipped out in his anger.

She watched as the lights of the jeep faded in the distance, and headed inside to catch some sleep before school tomorrow.

* * *

Kazuo walked the 5 miles into Haven, and then another 3 miles just to get to the school. When he finally arrived, he took in the sight. The school didn't look as state-of-the-art as Elysium Academy, but The Academy of Haven was definitely a sight to behold. It resembled an old brick building, with an iron gate. A brick wall surrounded the entire campus. The gates were open so that students could enter as soon as they arrived without delay.

Cutting his sightseeing short, Kazuo stepped onto the campus and made his way to the main building at the other end. Stepping inside, the hallways seemed neatly cleaned, as did the lockers. Students lingered in the hallways, meaning class had not yet begun.

Not knowing what class he was in, he made his way to the teachers lounge. He knocked once, and was beckoned from within. He opened the door and saw a teacher sitting there. "Mr. Walton I presume?" Kazuo bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, sir." The teacher looked at the newly updated class listing. "Kazuo Walton, Class 3-1." Kazuo bowed again. "Thank you, sir." The teacher nodded to him, and he left, shutting the door behind himself.

After a few minutes of wandering around, he finally found Classroom 3-1. The door seemed to be automated, unlike the door to the teachers lounge. He stepped in front of it, and it slid open. As soon as he stepped in, he saw both familiar faces and heard familiar voices. "Kaz!" He was almost tackled by Yui, who was now hugging him. "Good morning, Yui." She stopped hugging him. "I had a feeling you'd see things my way." She basically dragged him across the classroom to everyone else. Nori, Takeshi, Kenji, and even Yuki were in the class and sitting in one section of it.

Nori: "Kaz, you know about what went down last night, right?"

Kazuo: "Who doesn't?"

Kenji: "Yuki here."

Yuki: "Hey! I was sleeping!"

Takeshi: "That's no excuse when your front lawn is turned into a battlefield.

Kenji: "Come on now Takeshi, you know how heavy a sleeper she is."

Yui: "He's got you there, Yuki."

Yuki: "Hey! Whose side are you on?!"

Nori: "I wasn't talking about the battle itself, I was talking about Phantoma and that mobile suit of his. It really showed up last night. He just, came out of nowhere. Took out about a dozen mobile suits on his own if not more."

Kenji: "You obsess over this, Nori."

Takeshi: "You better believe he does. He stayed up all night rewatching the news vids."

They talked like that for a good 4 minutes before another voice chimed in. "That man can talk all he wants, but until he makes good on that promise he made, I wouldn't put any stock in him." Everyone turned to see Toju sitting at one of the desks near them. Somehow, he had gone unnoticed the entire time. Kazuo looked at him. "I don't believe we've met." Toju looked at him, stood up and walked around the desk to stand in front of him. "Tell you what. You beat me in a sparring match, and i'll tell you my name." Kazuo looked a little confused. "What kind of sparring match?" Toju smiled. "We'll use wooden swords. Its not Kendo and it's not fencing." Kazuo wondered why he didn't want to do an already established form of fighting, but he opted to not push the subject. "Alright, sounds fine to me. When and where?" Toju leaned on a nearby desk. "After school in the Kendo room. No one's using it today." Kazuo nodded in agreement.

The rest of the day passed like any other day. He introduced himself to the class, completed his first lessons, and conversed with his friends until the day was over. When the final bell rang, and the students and teachers had all left, Kazuo, Yui, Yuki, Nori, Takeshi, and Kenji made their way to the Kendo room. Kazuo clicked a button on the wall and the door slid open. Toju was already waiting inside. He wasn't wearing any gear, but he was holding two wooden bokken. "About time you showed up." They all stepped into the room. Kazuo made his way to the center while the rest of the group moved off to the sides. Toju tossed the bokken. Kaz raised an arm and caught it.

"No handicaps?"

"None."

"Alright then."

As if on cue, they both charged each other. Wood clashed against wood. They battled for what seemed like half an hour without tiring. Neither of them could score a hit on the other. They were evenly matched. The spectators watched, wondering who would win. "How much longer is this gonna last?" Takeshi asked. "I don't know, i've never seen Kaz fight. For all we know, he could last for hours." responded Kenji.

For a few more minutes, Kazuo and Toju fought relentlessly, neither one of them willing to give ground to the other. They clashed one final time, their swords crossing. Toju managed a burst of energy, and finally forced the wooden sword from Kaz's hand. The victor had finally been decided. They looked at each other for a moment. Then, Toju extended his hand to Kaz. Kaz smirked, extended his hand as well, and shook. A mutual respect had formed between the two, as well as a friendship.


End file.
